Title Terror

Does anyone else find choosing a title one of the worst things ever? I know writing blurbs is bad too, but I think I must spend just as much time – if not more – trying to decide on a title for my writing. I’ll even sometimes have a selection of five or so, and end up dithering between them. . . finally choosing one, only to decide I don’t like it later.

The funny thing is, when I’m coming up with ideas for stories, I’ll get great-sounding titles coming to me in droves. Only they never seem to fit the story I’ve written. Or as soon as I think of them they’re already marked for their own story.

Why are these things never easy?

I suppose I could try coming up with the title first, but when you don’t plan your writing, that can be a bit tricky. On the whole I know beforehand if I’m writing a romance or mystery or whatever, but more than that? No. And like I say, I come up with a title and it might fit for a while, but then I get to wondering. . .

Does anyone else have title terror? Or is it the stick-in-the-mud middles that give you headaches? The beastly blurb? Tricky time-finding? Whatever it is, I sure hope it gets easier with practice. (If it doesn’t, please don’t tell me. I’d rather live in that over-populated place; hope!)

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3 thoughts on “Title Terror”

Titles articles are actually one of the few things I’m okay with. When I start writing a book or a chapter (I like having chapter subtitles where I can) I think of one which fits what I THINK I’m about to write. Thus far, I’ve had to go back and alter about a third of my titles, but I think the hardest part of that is the disappointment that I’ll probably never get to read the story which went with the old title.

So far I’m ok with names. I have to think about them a while but then one will sort of pop into my head while I’m writing. Or I start out with a name, start writing, and suddenly there’s this character.

Unless I’m repeating without realising? Oh no, now I’m going to have to go back through everything and check! Maybe I should start a list: ‘names I’ve used and where’